It’s a huge week for Liverpool as they take on Barcelona at Camp Nou on Wednesday night.

Whilst Premier League glory is no longer in the hands of Jurgen Klopp’s men, with Manchester City clinging onto a one-point lead with two games to go, the Champions League remains firmly in their own destiny.

More good news for Liverpool was that after a slight injury scare last week, striker Roberto Firmino could be fit for the clash with the La Liga Champions.

Klopp said: "It is Bobby, so he might be ready for Wednesday, but we obviously don’t know in the moment. Because it is him, it’s rather likely that [he will be] than not"

The Brazilian missed Liverpool’s dominant 5-0 victory over Huddersfield on Friday night after suffering a small muscle tear in training the day before.

Firmino is, of course, a key component to Liverpool’s free-flowing and interchangeable front-three.

He netted in Liverpool’s 4-1 victory against Porto two weeks ago to take his tally to 16 for the campaign - four of which have came in Europe's premier competition.

Whilst he has been a master of this role for many years, the 30-year-old has recently shown signs of slowing down. As proved at Old Trafford against Manchester United, at times his lack of pace in the middle and a sometimes uncharacteristic poor first touch saw Busquets lose possession of the ball in dangerous areas.

There were further examples of this in the Champions League against Inter Milan earlier in the season.

Busquets receives possession of the ball in some space, and should be capable of pivoting and playing the ball to Lionel Messi, who has plenty of space to drive at the opposition defence.

Busquets receives possession of the ball and should be capable of pivoting and playing the ball to Lionel Messi (Image: Wyscout)

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Yet, the Spanish midfielder is slow in possession and quickly dispossessed. After losing possession, Inter are now in a dangerous 5v4 attacking situation in Barcelona's defensive third.

A similar situation could see Liverpool’s attack running riot.

(Image: Wyscout)

Given Barcelona’s preference to maintain possession of the ball, Liverpool will most likely deploy a high press at the Camp Nou.

Klopp’s Liverpool have been distinguished as a brilliant pressing side over his three-and-a-half years at Anfield, although throughout the course of this season, it has been widely considered that the German has installed a more conservative approach to matches, displaying more confidence in his balanced side.

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However, when its comes to Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA) which focuses on how many passes a team allows before pressing to regain the ball, in the Champions League, Liverpool have actually averaged 10.12 PPDA this season compared to 11.96 last season.

This basically illustrates the Reds have deployed a more aggressive press this season than they did in last season's comeptiton.

As illustrated in the below sequence taken from the Reds' victory away at Porto, when out of possession, Firmino will often break the line of Liverpool’s attacking trio and look to come short to occupy the space where the opposition's defensive midfielder will look to influence the game.

Firmino will often come short to occupy the space where the oppositions defensive midfielder is (Image: Wyscout)

As Liverpool’s midfield press the opposition on the ball, Firmino drops in as almost an extra defender. This effective tactic can often see Liverpool intercept the ball or force the opposition into a mistake allowing Liverpool to regain possession in a dangerous area of the pitch.

The tactic can often see Liverpool intercept the ball or force the opposition into a mistake (Image: Wyscout)

Due to the ability of Firmino, he can quickly turn and transition Liverpool from a defensive situation into an attacking one.

Firmino can quickly transition Liverpool from a defensive situation into an attacking one (Image: Wyscout)

The battle in midfield could prove the conclusive factor over the two legs. If Liverpool allow Busquets time in possession to influence play, then they could find themselves overwhelmed in short quick interact passages of play.

However, with Busquets now increasingly incapable of performing at the same lofty heights he once was, Liverpool’s pressing capabilities could prove a nightmare match-up in the middle of the pitch for the Spaniard - and could be enough to open the door for a second consecutive Champions League final for Klopp’s men.